Uneven
by Haitch
Summary: One-shot. Takasugi and Bansai meet for the first time.


The young man turned to glance behind him yet again, his single eye narrowed with suspicion. Stained bandages were wrapped carelessly over his untidy dark hair, covering half his face. Draped over his broad shoulders was a fancy black Western-style jacket, and underneath he wore only a loose, brightly coloured yukata.

Bansai had been warned that this man would be difficult to kill, but he hadn't seen a single threat from him yet. _Perhaps I should just get on with this before he notices me_, the assassin thought, but there was something holding him back. This man's song stood out from the rest, a melody that told of many a past suffering that he still held on to, the tune of having unfinished business with the world. Well, that business would have to stay unfinished. He ducked quickly behind the nearest ship as his target looked in his direction again.

Takasugi Shinsuke: leader of the Kiheitai, one of the biggest threats to the Bakufu, master swordsman, killer of thousands, orphan of the Kansei Purge, and alleged madman. After disappearing suddenly for a great deal of time during a crucial stage in the Joui war, he was presumed dead, but reappeared recently, unchanged apart from his missing eye. This is what Bansai had been told by his employers, but it was one thing to hear these words and another entirely to actually see the man behind the reputation. He appeared to be in his early twenties, around the same age as Bansai himself. Of course, considering his own choice of career, his age wasn't an important factor.

"Oi, oi..." Takasugi rudely greeted one of the people he passed by, "You, how is the war going? The damned medic refuses to give me status reports, for fear I'll run straight back into battle. I don't think I could be more stressed out if I tried, so it couldn't hurt to know."

The soldier shifted uncomfortably. "It's no different than it's been for the past week, sir."

"I've been gone for more than a week. Ever wonder why you've had no new orders recently? I hope that bastard Yamagata hasn't lead our group astray."

This made the soldier even more nervous. "Well, actually, he went missing a few days ago. Said something about a brilliant plan to take down the Amanto once and for all, brought a bunch of men on an expedition, and hasn't been seen since." He swallowed hard seeing the outraged expression on Takasugi's face, making himself as small as possible and continuing in a fearful voice, "He also said that you weren't responsible enough, and that he was going to take over."

Takasugi snarled, an almost inhuman expression, and the soldier jumped away with a fearful cry as though he had truly become a vicious beast. But rather than attack or even shout, he replied in a quiet, cold voice, "I always thought he'd be up to something like that. Well, if he's dead now, then that's less work for me." He turned and continued walking. The soldier slowly sank to the ground in relief.

So, Takasugi wasn't one to kill the messenger. But he certainly seemed ready to kill the next person to cause him any trouble. Bansai could hear the rage emanating from him as he walked, his hands clenched into tight fists.

Again, the perfect opportunity to strike arose, but Bansai couldn't get himself to move. How long had he been tailing him? Too much longer and someone would see him, for sure. He might have managed to slip into their military camp dressed in a stolen uniform, but it was easy to recognize him as an odd one out.

Takasugi interacted with a few more of his men, and they all had nothing but bad news. The Joui had already lost the war. The Amanto were getting stronger, and smarter, and more numerous, while the Kiheitai soldiers died in vain every day. With each report, their leader grew more and more furious, until suddenly the rage seemed to snap in half, folding back on itself and becoming a resigned weariness. When what felt to Bansai like the worst news yet – just relayed to them moments before, the Amanto had taken back Kyoto after all their hard work to seize it – came around, Takasugi didn't appear angry at all. Rather, he laughed, a chilling sound to hear, strangled and high-pitched and not at all joyful like laughter should be.

"That's right, the war is lost," he said almost to himself. He walked behind an tent and leaned on the side. Perfectly out of view. Almost too perfect.

He pulled a thin pipe out of the pocket of his jacket and lit it, taking a few deep breaths of the smoke. Then he sighed, continuing to talk to himself. "The war is lost, my comrades have left, and there is no longer any reason to be fighting. I don't see why there's a problem if you kill me."

His gaze wandered for a moment, but then his good eye focused suddenly on Bansai. Did he know he was there this whole time!?

"Well, what are you waiting for? You _are_ here to kill me, right, assassin-dono? We'll leave your identity and who sent you as a mystery for the men to figure out." When Bansai still didn't move, Takasugi beckoned with a wave of his hand.

The assassin stepped forward reluctantly, expecting to feel cold steel at his throat at any moment. This could only be a trap...

"You don't seem too confident about this, but the way you carry yourself makes it clear that you're a professional. Whoever set you up knows what they're doing. Probably the Amanto the Bakufu are kissing up to, am I right? Are they going after Zura and Gintoki as well?"

_Not that I know of_, Bansai almost answered, taken aback by how easy it felt to talk to this man. In fact, just by hearing his song for a little while and seeing the hint of a smile on his face, he felt the need to know him better.

"Hmph. So, I was wrong, then." The slight smile grew. "Well, get out of here, before I change my mind. Unless..."

"I'd like to join the Kiheitai," Bansai burst out before he could stop himself.

Takasugi didn't appear as surprised as he should have. "You heard me, the war is lost. I have no need for an assassin, especially not one who changes his mind so quickly. There is nothing here for you."

"There is nothing for me in my current job, either. Your tune is far more interesting."

"Oh? Well, I can tell you'll be a hard one to get rid of." Takasugi laughed, the same jarring sound from before. "No need to explain, I can see it all in your eyes. Be careful, or people will try to reach into your soul through those eyes of yours. Perhaps you should find a pair of shades, so people can't read you quite so easily."

"Ta-Takasugi-dono..." This transition from rage to dull despair to unexpected trust made no sense. Even his song was unbalanced, the timing thrown off as it struggled to keep up with the swing in his mood.

"Well, with my second-in-command gone, I guess there _are_ a few spaces to fill. We will probably be gathering what resources we have left and retreating to space, so you're free to hitch a ride." He let out another puff of smoke, as though this were an ordinary conversation to him.

Naming a complete stranger – one who had intended to kill him, no less – his second-in-command? Perhaps this man truly was as mad as his reputation claimed.

"How interesting. Your faith in me will not be betrayed. I would like to listen to your song all the way to the end, Takasugi-dono."

Takasugi raised a barely visible eyebrow, an uneven smirk slowly spreading across his face. But rather than question the choice of words, all he said was, "You can call me Shinsuke."

* * *

Author's notes:

Oh hey, I just figured out you can edit documents. Silly me. Anywho, this was just a cute little idea I've had for a while, that I couldn't fit into a flashback in _Final Performance_, so it got its own one-shot. Yes, _Final Performance_ is still ongoing, don't worry. It's just been temporarily inconvenienced.

This piece addresses a lot of my little headcanons about these two, without crossing into the shippy side of things, which is good.

The briefly mentioned Yamagata was historically, if I'm not mistaken, the one who took over Takasugi's role after his untimely death. But here I made him die too soon, excusing his absence in canon and letting Bansai be important.

Well, until next time, stay destroying. Wait, that wasn't it...


End file.
